Uzumaki, Kasai Tsukaite
by MrDenim
Summary: [AU][Mentorish-Nice-Kurama][Morally gray Naruto][Gaara-ish Naruto (Minus the constant homicidal tendencies)] - Naruto is quite simply the Gaara of Konoha. Emotionless, intimidating, and with a unique control over an element, in his case, fire. Watch as he molds into something that not even a Nara could predict.
1. Chapter 1

Uzumaki, Kasai Tsukaite

_By: MrDenim_

**~~~~~(((0)))~~~~~**

**Inspired by Kage No Naruto**

**~~~~~(((0)))~~~~~**

Chapter 1

Uzumaki Naruto, pariah of Konoha, Jinchuuriki to the nine-tailed fox, was upset. Not only had he been kicked out of the third weapons store since the day began, he had also 'misplaced' his ash containers that he normally wore against his hips. It's a good thing that they didn't have time to take the large one that was always on his back, or his katana.

He walked the streets trying to find the missing items, completely ignoring the glares being sent his way. A small, dark blue ball, from out of nowhere, bounced against Naruto's calf and rolled in front of him, stopping just a few feet away. The young blonde halted when a child, barely half his age, ran into his path and picked up the ball, not even aware of the Jinchuuriki that was a mere yard away.

"Boy! Get away from _him_!"

The child jerked in surprise, and turned around, just to stare into the emotionless eyes of the older blonde. The kid recognized him as the boy that he was always told to avoid, for reasons he still didn't know. But still, he wanted to find out why.

"Why are they afraid of you? The adults, I mean." The child innocently asked.

There was an audible intake of air from most of the adults who were now looking worriedly at the older boy. The air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a dull butter knife.

Several of the braver adults moved forward when Naruto started walking towards the child, however, he just made his way past. Without looking back Naruto spoke, with no emotion, the phrase that every minor despised.

"You'll learn when you're older."

After a couple seconds of silence, the same ball from before bounced against the back of the Jinchuuriki's head. The adults all stopped in fear, their muscles tense. Naruto turned his head until his left eye was barely visible behind him. He stared into the eyes of the now angry child. Every instinct the younger boy had now screamed at him to run and never look back.

Naruto's eyes softened slightly as he said, "I suggest you don't do that to any foreign ninja you may come across, brat. You may just end up dead."

He turned back around, his mask back in place, as he continued on his way to locate his stolen items, not even acknowledging the hugs and scolding that the boy was receiving from his worried grandfather.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto found his ash containers smashed to bits and pieces in a ditch on the outskirts of the market district, their contents flung everywhere. Naruto just stood there as the steel lid of his main container opened itself and fell to the ground. The ashes rose into the air and went into the larger container. When every last piece of ash was inside, the lid rose into the air and shut itself against the top of container, enveloping the large amount of ashes inside in darkness. Naruto lazily looked up into the sky and let out a breath.

_**Are you alright, kit?**_

_I've been better, Kurama. It's just that this is getting repetitive._

_**You could always kill the next person that tries to do it.**_

_If they catch me at the wrong time, I may just do that._

Naruto cut off the connection and headed towards one of the few shops that wouldn't throw him out. As he walked the streets, the new generation skirted their attention, while the older generation openly bored their eyes into the Jinchuuriki.

Naruto paid them no mind as he opened the door to the weapons shop and stepped inside, shutting the outside world behind him. A slightly older girl with a blue blouse glanced in his direction and said,

"Morning, Naruto. You need something?"

Naruto stepped up to the counter and said, "I need two ash containers, a whetstone, and a larger set of chakra weights."

Tenten narrowed her eyes slightly. Naruto sighed and muttered, "…_please._"

The girl's expression brightened and she nodded. She moved around the shop, grabbing objects seemingly at random. She suddenly appeared behind the counter, the stuff he requested in front of them both. Naruto took off his old weights and placed them next to the new ones. Tenten took them and placed them under the counter, then reduced the price of the new set by the price of the older, lighter set.

"That'll be 1500 ryo, Naruto." She said.

Without a word, Naruto took out his flame red wallet and pulled out the needed amount. He handed it to her and waited for her to count it all out. When that was finished, he equipped the new set of weights around his arms and legs; as a result, his movement was slightly hindered. He hitched the new ash containers to his hips and placed the whetstone in the pouch next to his katana.

Speaking of which, he unsheathed the weapon and asked Tenten to give it a look over. She took the sword by the hilt and stared down its onyx edge. She then examined the entire blade for any nicks and scratches. After that, she spun it into the air and caught it by the hilt.

She gave it back to its wielder and said, "It's still in the pristine condition as when you first bought it. It's obvious that you take great care of you weapons."

Naruto sheathed the katana. He turned back to Tenten, but didn't say anything. All that happened was the edges of his mouth twitching upwards. He then suddenly turned and left the shop. When the door shut behind him, Tenten sighed and resumed her bored position.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto walked into the classroom, still thinking that the Hokage was just trying to get the children killed by letting him attend the academy. He took a seat at the back of the class, his larger container leaning against the side of the desk, slightly blocking the stairs. Uchiha Sasuke, this year's Rookie of the Year, barely glanced in the Jinchuuriki's direction before staring off into space. Shino didn't even acknowledge his presence, yet Naruto knew that the bug-user was keeping tabs on him.

One by one, more and more students filed into the classroom, most not even looking in the vague direction of the young blonde. Kiba sat next to Shino, with Choji on his other side. Shikamaru lazily sat down in the desk behind Kiba and in front of Naruto, and was asleep in less than five seconds.

"Is… Is it o-okay if I si-sit here, N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto glanced at Hyuuga Hinata, who was currently bumping her fingers together in embarrassment, a large blush on her cheeks. After a few seconds of the blonde boy staring at her, he nodded and turned back to face the chalkboard at the front of the class. The shy girl slowly sat in the seat next to him.

"OUT OF MY WAY, BILLBOARD-HEAD!"

"UP YOURS, INO-PIG!"

Just about everyone in the room sighed in unison as the yelling fangirls got closer and closer. They both entered the room and yelled,

"I WIN!"

They glared death and lightning into the other's eyes, and then switched from insults to arguing about who gets to sit next to their 'Sasuke-kun'. _Sasuke-kun_ just mentally groaned at the two's antics.

Iruka-sensei entered the room and sighed when he heard the two. He cleared his throat and screamed, "SHUT UP AND TAKE YOUR SEATS!"

The two practically teleported to a random seat, with Ino sitting next to Sasuke and Sakura sitting next to Hinata, much to one's joy and another's displeasure.

Iruka cleared his throat again and said, "Greetings students, for possibly the last time. Today," He grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote down four words. "Is the day of the Genin Team Placement Examination."

He turned back to his students and saw expressions varying from excitement, worry, boredom, and, in Naruto's case, nothing.

"There are several portions to this test: Written, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu."

He went into a drawer and pulled out a rather thick stack of paper. With a small yell, he threw the entire stack up into the air, where each one fazed out of existence and suddenly appeared in front of a random student, a pencil on top, eliminating any chance of cheating.

With his hand on his hip, he stated, "Begin."

Naruto picked up his pencil and quickly wrote down his name. He was about to answer the first question when the paper seemed to flicker.

"Hmm."

Naruto turned his gaze to Hinata, who was looking at the paper in confusion. Her eyes widened, as if in realization, and placed a hand into a single handsign, and muttered, "Kai."

She tapped Naruto's test with two fingers, and the entire paper flickered for a second before the questions seemingly rearranged themselves into the correct order.

A genjutsu had been dispelled.

The two students glanced at each other. Naruto slightly inclined his head in thanks, causing Hinata to blush again. They turned back to their test and started answering the questions.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Hokage's office**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

The Jounin selected to be team leaders looked through the Hokage's crystal ball at Hinata in surprise.

Kurenai, Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, said, "Impressive. It took her less than ten seconds to find out that there was a genjutsu on the boy's test."

"All that I care about is why there was a genjutsu on the kid's test in the first place." Asuma Sarutobi grumbled through his cigarette.

The Third Hokage nodded in agreement. The old man said, "I'll look into it after the exam is finished."

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Back with the rookies**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

"Alright class. Put your pencils down. The time is up." Iruka called out, much to some of the students' disappointment. When all of the tests were picked up and on his desk, he said, "The next portion of the test is taijutsu. Follow me outside."

When Naruto walked into the area where the next portion of the test was to be held, he saw Mizuki-sensei standing in the middle of a white ring with his arms crossed over his chuunin vest.

Mizuki said, "When I call your name, step into the ring. You will have five minutes to land as many hits as possible. First is Nara Shikamaru."

The lazy genius sighed and muttered, "I'm first. So troublesome."

With his use of tactics, the young Nara heir managed to land over thirty hits on the proctor.

"Next, Inuzuka Kiba."

Twenty hits.

"Yamanaka Ino."

Twenty-eight hits.

"Aburame Shino."

Twelve hits.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

Forty-six hits.

"Haruno Sakura."

Twelve hits.

"Akimichi Choji."

Eight hits.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Fifty hits.

"_Uzumaki Naruto._"

Mizuki basically growled Naruto's name when it came to be his turn. Naruto sighed and stepped into the ring, opposite from Mizuki. The chuunin suddenly disappeared.

Naruto unhitched the bottom half of his main container and spun counter-clockwise, making the bottom half of the container slam into Mizuki's chest, launching him across the ring. Naruto then unhitched the rest of the steel cylinder and threw it into the air, where it stayed perfectly balanced on top of a wire.

The young blonde then got into a basic taijutsu stance, waiting for his opponent to run forward.

Mizuki just disappeared again.

Without warning, the Jinchuuriki leaped into the air just in time to avoid a flying kick that would've smashed his face in, only it formed a small crater in the ground where Mizuki's foot slammed down.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Hokage's office**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Most of the Jounin were glaring daggers at the aggressive chuunin.

Hatake Kakashi frowned behind his face mask and said, "Even for an exam, Mizuki is going too hard on the kid."

Maito Gai, Konoha's Taijutsu Specialist, frowned as well and said, "You don't think he's going that hard because of Naruto's past?"

The Hokage was now staring intently at the white-haired chuunin as he said, "He better not be. Otherwise I'll be speaking to him personally after the exam is over and done with."

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Back with Naruto**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto caught Mizuki's foot and twisted it, making the chuunin spin in midair. The young blonde then thrusted forward, punching the older man in the gut, knocking him out of the ring right when time was up.

"Time!" Iruka called. He smiled at the academy student and said, "Forty-eight hits. Good job, Naruto!"

Naruto nodded slightly and grabbed the container as it fell back to the ground due to a stiff wind blowing it over. He hitched it back into place as he followed Iruka and Mizuki towards another section of the training grounds with the other students where another proctor, by the name of Sunaichi Akiino, was waiting with an almost bored expression on his face.

"'Bout time you rookies showed up, I was getting worried that you all ran off in fear of my part of the exam."

Mizuki and Iruka sighed at Akiino's antics and stood on the sidelines as the newest proctor said,

"Alright kiddies, listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once. This portion of the test is not like others, where you're tested on your knowledge or speed. Ninjutsu is about destroying your enemies while leaving you allies with as few scars as possible. I've seen a man decimate an entire assassination squad with only a single jutsu, while his allies were in the thick of combat."

Most of the students were shivering by the end of the chuunin's speech.

"This portion is going to be done as so: I'm going to give you a jutsu to perform. It will have a chance of killing your opponent if done correctly, however, one of your allies will be engaging said opponent in close-quarters combat. Your job is to kill the opponent without damaging your ally. If you can do so, you pass. If not, you fail. Got it?!" At some fearful nods, Akiino said, "Great! Nara, you're up first."

Shikamaru sighed and stepped forward. He was surprised to find Ino fighting an enemy nin. He turned to find that Ino was still standing amongst the other students. Akiino threw a kunai at a halfway point between the clan heir and the fake Ino.

"You cannot pass that point. Oh, and use your clan's jutsu to solve this riddle."

Shikamaru nodded and got on one knee, his hands already forming the necessary signs for his family's Shadow Possession Jutsu. His shadow stretched outward, passing the thrown kunai, then separated into a dual-prong shadow, planning on surrounding the enemy nin. The fake Ino saw this and feinted outwards then suddenly smash her foot into her opponent's chin, sending him into the air. Right when he landed on the ground, Shikamaru moved in, his shadow wrapping around the enemy nin, a black hand around his throat.

"Nara Shikamaru, Pass."

Shikamaru dispelled his ninjutsu and stood next to Iruka, a bored expression on his face.

"Next, Inuzuka Kiba."

_All of the Rookie Nine members before Naruto pass._

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto stepped forward, a slight frown on his face. Akiino looked thoughtful for a second before he suddenly threw a kunai straight at him. The lid of his main container flew open and fire swept outwards in the direction of the incoming kunai. Said kunai hit the wall of flame and was literally turned to ash, which was then absorbed by the moving blaze to add to Naruto's already impressive collection.

Akiino glared at the boy and said, "You own for one kunai, Naruto."

Without any emotion, Naruto said, "You threw the blade, not I."

Akiino shrugged and said, "Surprise me."

A fake Hinata appeared in a puff of smoke, Byakugan already active, much to the embarrassment and joy of the real one. An enemy nin fazed into existence behind her, tanto at the ready. The fake Hinata turned around and jabbed her chakra-laced fingers into the man's chest, knocking him back a few feet.

Naruto suddenly made a single handsign and yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two Narutos, complete clones, appeared on either side of the real one. One shunshinned in front of the fake Hinata to take a blow to the heart by a tanto, while the second broke the man's left arm and leg, then grabbed him by the chin and slammed his head backwards against the clone's shoulder until his neck snapped. All the while, the real Naruto was standing there, his arms crossed and a small frown on his face.

"I thought this was supposed to be difficult." He said as he made his way to stand next to a grimacing Uchiha.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Hokage's Office**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

The Third Hokage frowned as he asked, "Does anyone know of how Naruto learned one of Konoha's forbidden jutsu?"

The Jounin shook their heads, all equally surprised.

Kurenai stood up and said, "Looks like it's my turn. See ya 'round."

She shunshinned to the Genjutsu examination area.

Kakashi sighed and stated, "Whoever is going to have Naruto on their squad will have their hands full to say the least."

The Hokage nodded and thought to himself, _I'll ask Naruto about it after I look through Mizuki's files. He's being far too suspicious._

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

**Genjutsu examination area**

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Kurenai smiled at the approaching academy students. She looked at each of them in turn, her eyes lingering on Naruto for the briefest of seconds. When they were all situated she cleared her throat.

"Alright brats. This is the final portion of your Genin Team Placement Examination: Genjutsu. Genjutsu is without a doubt one of the hardest jutsu to master, topped only by Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu, as both take decades of constant practice to master. Those with larger chakra reserves will find this portion to be what could make or break their team placement or even fail them altogether, as Genjutsu requires precise chakra control to manifest and dispel. But don't worry, I'm sure you lot will do just fine." She clapped her hands and said, "Now then, let's get started."

_Same as before with the Rookie Nine before Naruto passing._

"Uzumaki Naruto, step forward."

The fire user did so and stared Kurenai in the eyes, unnerving her slightly thanks to his emotionless expression. She made several handsigns and bore her eyes into Naruto, then activated the Genjutsu.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly when the world around the student and proctor seemed to smash to pieces like old glass.

"What exactly is this Genjutsu supposed to accomplish?" He asked.

"To prove or disprove a theory of mine." She replied.

There was silence between the two as Naruto's mindscape started to form around them. Kurenai started when she saw the cage behind the Jinchuuriki, who started to softly smirk as he said,

"Ah! So this is your theory. So, was it successful?"

Kurenai did nothing but nod, her eyes pouring into the cage, trying to see the demon within. A red haze seemed to envelop an extremely large form. Two large orbs suddenly appeared, a blood red with a black slit at the center. It only took the genjutsu mistress a second to realize that she was looking at the nine-tailed fox's eyes.

_**Hmm? It seems that you will have to try harder than that to put my Jinchuuriki under a Genjutsu. My ambient chakra automatically dispels one whenever one is applied directly to him. Decent attempt, however.**_

It took Kurenai a few seconds to realize that the nine-tailed fox had _complimented_ her.

She smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Nine-Tails. I, honestly, wasn't expecting you to be so civil."

_**I was controlled that night.**_ The demon said, _**By a man thought long dead to you mortals.**_

Kurenai didn't even have to put into words of how much she would fear to face such an opponent that could place the Nine-Tails under his power. She smiled again as she thought, _Naruto… you-_

"-pass." She said as Naruto dispelled the Genjutsu in under a second.

**~~~~~(((0)))~~~~~**

**Does anyone else hate their imagination sometimes?**

**Me too.**

**Would any of you believe me if I said that I typed this up over the span of an hour? Probably not… Anyway, some notes on various aspects of the story:**

**TAGS**

**[AU] ~ Alternate Universe. Self-explanatory.**

**[Mentorish-Nice-Kurama] ~ Nice Kurama alone is badass, but a nice Kurama that helps by teaching Naruto along with his sensei? Even better.**

**[Morally gray Naruto] ~ This Naruto has control over fire, an element which has no allies or limits. This Naruto will be somewhat similar.**

**[Gaara-ish Naruto (Minus the constant homicidal tendencies)] ~ Basically this Naruto will act the same way Gaara did during/before the Chuunin exams, only he'll kill those that attack him first. (Kankuro is gonna piss himself once he realizes that there are two Gaaras now.)**

**PAIRINGS**

**I MAY try my hand with either NaruHina or NaruIno, depending on the results of the poll and possible reviews and PMs. I'm not the biggest fan of romance in a story, as I feel that it breaks too much of the story's existing atmosphere if the story wasn't already about romance. I'm to the point where I've started excluding the Romance genre when I search for new fics to read.**

**OCs**

**You can submit one, but it will more than likely only be used for fleeting roles. On the note of the OC I used as the ninjutsu proctor, here is how to pronounce his name:**

**Sunaichi Akiino: Suna (as in Sunagakure). Ichi (as in AkimICHI Choji). Ah-Key-no. Sunaichi Akiino. Got it memorized?**

**Anyway, see ya'll next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Naruto stepped out of the academy with his dull red hitai-ate tied around his waist like a belt, the symbol of the Hidden Leaf shining brightly in the sunlight. Though he didn't show it, he was happy that he had passed. More due to the fact that Kurama had promised to teach him a new ability if he did so, not that he was going to fail in the first place.

He was so distracted by the idea of a new ability that he almost walked into the Third Hokage. Naruto blinked and looked up at the old man. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the young Jinchuuriki with a smile, recognizing the hidden sparkle in the boy's eyes as the pride of success.

"How did it go, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked through his wooden pipe.

Naruto motioned towards the hitai-ate around his waist. He flicked the metal portion with an index finger, making it emit a dull ring in the afternoon air.

Sarutobi smiled down at the impassive child and asked, "In honor of your success, how about I treat you to some ramen?"

Naruto's face brightened considerably at that. Ramen, and those that he respected, were the only things that could bring Naruto out of his blank shell. With a nod, Naruto followed the old man, his mask back in place.

The two of them took a seat at the front counter of Ichiraku Ramen. Ayame, who was manning the cash register, smiled at them.

"Hey, Naruto, Hokage-sama. The usual?" She asked sweetly.

They nodded. Ayame nodded back and went to the kitchen to tell her father, Teuchi, to get their orders cooked up. Several minutes and idle conversation later, they were eating their usual dishes: Miso Ramen for Naruto and Hijiki Ramen for Sarutobi.

After swallowing a bite, Sarutobi asked Naruto, "I heard from the ninjutsu proctor that you used a particularly powerful jutsu." He gauged the slight tensing of Naruto's muscles. "Now now, you're not in trouble." The muscles relaxed.

_Emotionless, thanks to the Kyuubi, or not,_ Sarutobi thought. _Naruto is still just a child. And like a child, he hates getting in trouble._

Sarutobi shrugged and said, "I brought it up because I was curious as to where you learned it. I recognized, from he told me, as it being Kage Bunshin, a more advanced and dangerous version of the regular Bunshin. Do you know why it is so, Naruto?"

The young ninja replied instantly.

"It's because it cuts the chakra reserves of the user by the number of clones he or she is trying to create, making them more powerful. For most, it is extremely difficult to make even a single Kage Bunshin, as the sudden depletion of charka would render the user unconscious, or worse. On the upside, when they are dispelled by any means, their memories are sent to the original, making the Kage Bunshin Jutsu an excellent ninjutsu to use for scouting and infiltration."

Sarutobi nodded along with Naruto's explanation of the jutsu. He added his own penny to the conversation.

"That downside is the very reason why it was made a forbidden jutsu, Naruto." Muscles tensed again. "I know for a fact that the only available copy of the jutsu is in my office, underneath a series of seals so complex that even the Fourth would have had to be careful during the process of retrieving it."

Sarutobi leaned forward slightly; his right hand on his pipe as he took a puff.

"Answer me honestly, Uzumaki Naruto. How did you learn the jutsu?"

The older man tried to make his presence seem kind and honest to calm Naruto. All that the younger ninja did, however, was stand up and pay for his meal. He unblinkingly gazed at the Hokage and muttered softly, as not to be overheard,

"My furry prisoner found out about my chakra control problem and helped. That's all."

Without another word being spoken between the two, Naruto left Ichiraku's…

…almost.

A member of the ANBU, this one wearing an Ox mask, suddenly appeared between Naruto and Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi turned to look at Ox.

"Hmm?"

"The forbidden scroll has been stolen!"

The Hokage's prized pipe fell out of his mouth and landed on the floor, spilling the tobacco inside of it everywhere. The old man was all business in under a second, a small amount of KI leaking out.

"Put the whole village on lockdown. No one comes in or goes out. Those that try will be held for interrogation under Ibiki. I want every ninja available searching every square inch of Konoha!"

"Hai!" Ox exclaimed as he shunshinned out of sight.

"Hokage-sama."

"Yes, Naruto?" Sarutobi looked at the soon-to-be-Genin.

"If I find the one responsible, I can't promise that there will be a body once I'm through."

The Hokage sighed and said, "If you do manage to find the culprit, find out what you can before you add him to your 'collection'. And Naruto…"

"Yes, Hokage?"

"I'm giving you permission to go Feral if need be."

Naruto suddenly grinned maliciously, a homicidal gleam in his eyes as he turned around and took off running.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto took in the scents that surrounded him, and smelled nothing but wood, dirt, leaves, and…

…_blood…_

The now slightly homicidal Jinchuuriki took in as much of the blood scent as he could before he ran towards the origin of the delicious odor. Leaping from branch to branch, the young blonde was busy talking with his 'prisoner'.

_**Ahh! The scent of blood! It truly gets you going!**_

_Humph! I don't care what the blood smells like, all that I care about is finding my next kill!_

Naruto stopped on a higher branch when he felt two charka signatures just below him. As luck would have it, the scent of blood was strongest where the two unknown ninja were at. Channeling chakra to his feet, Naruto walked down the side of the tree until he could hear what was being said.

"…ou take the Forbidden Scroll, Mizuki?!"

Mizuki laughed and said, "Because I refuse to live in a village that willingly lets a damn _demon_ roam the streets. So, I figured I would leave with a little memento to remember Konoha by, you know, for the _oh so wonderful_ memories!"

_So, Iruka found Mizuki, who is the thief, first eh? Let's just hope Iruka gets knocked out or something, because as much as he likes me, I won't be able to guarantee his continued existence once I go after Mizuki._

After several more minutes of bickering, Naruto decided enough was enough and dropped down from his hiding spot, landing on one knee. The two Chuunin stopped yelling at each other to stare at him.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled, "Mizuki stole the scroll! We've got to stop him!"

Naruto gauged Iruka's injuries. The academy sensei had a couple of kunai sticking out of him, along with a black eye and a large gash that went from his left shoulder down to the elbow. Mizuki, on the hand, seemed no worse for wear.

"I know." He said.

Naruto crossed his arms as the steel lid from his main container fell to the dewy ground with a dull thud. Mizuki took a few steps back, knowing all too well of the Jinchuuriki's special ability.

Taking a chance against fate, Mizuki threw one of his fuuma shuriken and several kunai and normal shuriken at the cross-armed blonde. The automatic fires sprung outwards and burned the weapons to ash, adding them to their user's collection, making the fire go from a simple blaze to a raging inferno from the added kindling.

"Give me the truth, Mizuki." Naruto said with his eyes closed. "Why?"

The white-haired traitor started chuckling, which quickly turned into an all out laugh.

"It's because of you, Uzumaki Naruto! Do you want to know why?"

Iruka's face went from pain to panic faster than anyone could blink.

"NO DON'T! IT'S FORBIDDEN!" He screamed.

"What is?" Naruto asked softly, an imperceptible smirk on his face.

"It's because of something that happened on October 10th, over a decade ago, on the night of your birth." Mizuki ignored Iruka's screams for him to stop. "The Fourth Hokage, a master of sealing jutsu, defeated the Kyuubi no Yoko by trapping him inside an infant." Taking Naruto's silence as shock, he continued. "He trapped it inside of _you_! YOU ARE THE NINE-TAILED FOX, NARUTO!"

Whatever Mizuki was expecting, a snarl wasn't it. Naruto snapped his eyes open, the irises had changed from their original cerulean blue to a blood red. The pupils slitted.

"_**I know!"**_

Naruto disappeared, and reappeared behind Mizuki, the overly-large Forbidden Scroll in his hands. His flames swept over Mizuki like a wave, not giving him any time to scream as the fire licked the flesh off of his bones, melted his eyes, and turned his brain into a burnt crisp. The fire, once it was done soaking up its' latest addition, turned white hot as it absorbed Mizuki's blood. After several minutes of complete silence, the flames died down and went back into the container in ash form, the tiniest scraps of bone could still be seen smoking from the searing heat, blackened from just being in the presence of the demon fire.

Naruto closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were back to their normal color, cold as ever. His bloodlust sated, Naruto turned to the still form of Iruka, who had passed out during the process of Naruto collecting the traitor, and blinked.

"There is a reason why I am called the Demon Inferno of Konoha." Naruto spoke to the empty air. "Remember it well, for it shall instill fear into every heart and mind of the Five Ninja Nations."

There was a rustling of tree branches as two squads of ANBU in full combat gear entered the scene, the Hokage at the front, also in full combat gear. The old man took a look at the scene before him and sighed.

"Naruto, report." He ordered.

Naruto's head snapped to the Hokage's direction.

He said, "Mizuki was the traitor. He said that he would rather be a missing-nin than live in the same village as me. I wasn't able to glean information as to why he took the scroll in the first place because he attacked me before I could ask. It proved futile as he is now sleeping with my ashes."

The Hokage sighed once more. He held out his hand and said, "The scroll, Naruto."

The fire master tossed the scroll single-handedly at the Hokage, who caught it in the same manner. With the scroll firmly, horizontally attached to his back, he ordered Elk to take Iruka to the hospital, and for the rest to pass the word to lift the lockdown, but to keep any possible civilians or ninja under interrogation for the possibility of aiding a traitor.

Better to be safe than sorry, right?

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was finishing up the paperwork when a thought struck him.

"Did you have to go Feral on him, Naruto?" He asked, concern in his eyes.

To his relief, Naruto shook his head and said, "Mizuki wasn't stronger than me, not by a long shot. It has recently taken a high-Chuunin to low-Jounin, minimum, to make me go Feral, and Mizuki wasn't even at mid-Chuunin. A bit sad really."

Sarutobi nodded his head in acceptance and went back to reviewing papers. A couple of hours had past when Naruto asked a question that the old man had been wondering himself.

"Who could have possibly managed to trick Mizuki into stealing the scroll?"

The old man shook his head and said, "None of the people that were held for questioning were in allegiance with him. They were all just impatient people trying to go about their lives."

Naruto grunted, then asked, "With Iruka in the hospital, Mizuki dead, and the other sensei busy with the younger students, who will be reading off the team lists to the graduating class?"

Lord Third smiled and said, "That would be yours truly, Naruto. I'll be at the academy at 10 o'clock sharp to read the lists in a week. You can take this time to do what you normally do."

Naruto stood up, bowed, and then left to head back to his rundown apartment and take a nap, wanting to learn the new ability from Kurama.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

"_**Kit, turn your mindscape into a battleground with the Nanabi flying around."**_

Naruto did so. Scorched earth and dead bodies were everywhere, and the Seven-Tails was hovering in the air. Kurama opened his maw wide. An extremely large ball of demonic chakra, even when placed next to the Nine-Tails, formed in front of him. It was deep red with a glowing center.

"_**Tailed-Beast Bomb!"**_

The sphere launched into the sky and smashed into the Nanabi. When it hit, there was a blinding light and a giant explosion that kicked up dust for miles. When the dust at ground zero settled, there was nothing but a large crater with a smoking Nanabi at the bottom.

Kurama turned to Naruto and said, **"I am going to teach you how to do this technique by forming it in the palm of your hand. By itself it is devastating. But, coupled with your Kage Bunshin, no mortal will be able to stand in your way. This is how to do it…"**

The red Kitsune spent the rest of the night teaching Naruto, and his thousand shadow clones, on how to use it. It turns out that a mix of Wind and Fire chakra was needed to use the technique. Naruto already had a Wind chakra affinity, and his automatic flames dealt with the rest. By the time the sun was rising, Naruto had it down like a master. Before waking up, he decided to test it out on a dummy Kurama.

Smoke surrounded Naruto as fifty shadow clones got in close, distracting the fake Kitsune. The real Naruto had a single ball formed in his hands, but landed on the dummy's raised tails on his feet, his fingers in his signature handsign. Over two thousand shadow clones appeared, high in the air, each with two balls in their hands. They all opened their mouths and yelled,

"Beast Bomb Barrage!"

The dummy Kurama stood no chance, as it disappeared in a puff of black smog. The real Naruto stood on top of a pile of ashes, his arms crossed, without a single glimpse as to what he was feeling. He bid Kurama a good day and woke up.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

The week seemed to pass quickly for Naruto, as he had stuck to his word and killed the next person that tried to take his smaller ash containers. Most of the Genin were thanking him for getting rid of the Daimyo's Wife's cat. He visited Tenten again to get another set of ash containers and the largest set of chakra weights they had in stock. When Naruto left he, as he always did, multiplied their intended weight by twenty.

He entered the nearly empty classroom for the last time at precisely 9:45 a.m. He sat in his usual spot at the back of the class., with Sasuke and Shino doing as they always did. Kiba was, surprisingly, the next one to enter the room.

The Inuzuka heir took a quick whiff of the room and started when he picked up the old scent of blood from the Jinchuuriki. Akamaru let in a few careful scents and whimpered when he received Naruto's. Kiba casted a worried glance at Akamaru before sharing a few quiet words with his canine companion. Kiba suddenly looked Naruto dead in the eyes, who willingly stared back.

It became a stare-down between the two alphas that didn't go impeded by those that knew better. The two males had been staring at each other for fifteen minutes when Sarutobi walked in, even then they didn't let up. The Hokage, knowing that they would just get mad at him, didn't interfere.

The position-making stare-down lasted for about an hour when Kiba suddenly looked down in defeat. He gave Naruto a deep bow of respect before sitting in his seat next to Shino, the scent of lost pride around him. Akamaru gave his friend a quick lick on the cheek, trying to cheer him up. Kiba gave a small smile, but it turned into a curious frown as he turned to face the Hokage.

Sarutobi cleared his throat and said, "Now that the clan business is over with, I will announce the new Genin teams. Normally, it would be Mizuki- or Iruka-sensei that would give you your team placement, but due to events that were out of our control I will be the one that does it."

_Teams 1-6 don't matter… I hope._

"Team 7, led by Hatake Kakashi, is Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and…"

**~~~~~(((0)))~~~~~**

**Shorter chapter I know, but I need to end the current tie between two of the choices. So, by the time you're reading this, there should be a new poll up with only two team options, and three pairing options, as a reviewer sighted a possible NaruTen pairing. (I'm honestly partial to NaruIno, as that pairing can be downright adorable when done correctly.) So vote on what you want!**

**Up next, Naruto goes Feral!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"…Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke and Naruto gave no reaction, but on the inside each were fuming. Sakura, on the other hand, was announcing her joy to the world.

Sarutobi continued, "Team 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai, is Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba."

Hinata and Kiba nodded, while Shino gave no indication of having heard the Hokage say his name.

"Team 9 is still active. Team 10, led by Sarutobi Asuma, is Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru."

Ino looked horrified at being on the same team as a slouch and a boy whose stomach was a black hole. Choji just nodded while loudly munching on his twenty-eighth bag of chips. Shikamaru was still sawing logs, a bit of drool leaking onto the desk.

As the Hokage looked around the room at the new generation of ninja, he said, "That is the teams. Your sensei will arrive over the course of the remaining day. You may take this time to get to know your teammates better. I hope you all have a wonderful day and-"

"Hokage-sama." Naruto interrupted with a slightly raised hand.

The old man blinked and asked, "Yes, Naruto? Is something the matter?"

Naruto crossed his arms and answered, "Apologies for interrupting, but I have a minor complaint about the team listing for Teams 7 and 8." Sarutobi motioned for him to continue. "I believe that it would have been best if Haruno was placed on Team Kurenai, as her near-perfect chakra control would allow her to become an excellent genjutsu user, perhaps even a medic-nin if she so chose."

"If it were to be," Sarutobi said. "who would you have had on Team 7 amongst the three of Team 8?"

"The Inuzuka heir." Naruto stated simply, "His family's techniques would allow for Uchiha, me, and Kiba to perform a multitude of devastating combos. Just as effective," The Jinchuuriki shrugged as he continued. "Haruno would be able to decapitate the enemy with a genjutsu while Hinata kept the enemy on the defensive with her Byakugan, and Shino used his bugs to suck the chakra straight from the enemy, leaving them defenseless."

Sarutobi nodded along with the explanation.

"I had considered those points." He said. "But before I was able to bring it to light, Kurenai had already picked Kiba for her cell, leaving Kakashi with Sakura."

Naruto bowed his head and said, "I understand, Hokage."

The old man turned to the small crowd and said, "I hope you all have a wonderful day and that you all succeed as ninja."

The Third Hokage bowed and left. After a few seconds of silence, the newly crowned Genin started conversing with their teammates. Well… most of them, anyway.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

"Why don't you show us how it's done, sensei?"

Team 7, along with Kakashi, were on the roof. They were there to give information about themselves.

"Very well." Kakashi said as he crossed his arms. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I always forget my dreams when I wake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. …Well I have a lot of hobbies. Pinks, you're turn."

Naruto blinked and thought, _All he told us was his name._

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My dream is…" She looked at Sasuke with a blush. "I like…" Another look and blush. "I dislike Ino-pig! My hobbies are…" A third look and blush.

_Kunoichi at this age are more interested in the opposite sex than learning ninjutsu._ Kakashi thought.

"Next, Mr. Broods."

In a deadpan voice, Sasuke said, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have a lot of dislikes and I don't really like anything. And… I can't really call it a dream. But I have this ambition: The resurrection of my clan… and to kill a certain man."

_He's so cool! _Sakura thought with a blush.

Naruto scoffed and thought, _As if he would have any chance of defeating Uchiha Itachi, much less killing him._

Kakashi's eye looked dead serious as he thought, _Just as expected._

"Lastly, ice-eyes on the left."

Naruto glared at Kakashi for the nickname, but quickly resumed his blank mask and said, "My status is somewhat similar to the Uchiha's. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I dislike a lot of things, am neutral towards most others. I wouldn't call it like, but I respect those that don't judge me on the first contact. I don't have many dreams, but when I do, they are filled blood and flames. My hobbies are enhancing my current abilities and coming up with new ones."

Kakashi mentally sighed. _Oh Minato, your kid truly doesn't deserve all that has happened to him. You must be rolling in your grave right now._

"Well, now that, that's out of the way," Kakashi stated. "Tomorrow is when our duties as a team of Konoha shinobi begin."

"What kind of duties, sensei?" Sakura asked innocently.

Kakashi looked at her and spoke, his voice void of emotion.

"Survival training." He noticed the girl opening her mouth and quickly resumed. "This isn't like the training you received at the academy." Her mouth shut. "Out of the 27 graduates, only six will be made into shinobi. The rest will be sent back to the academy for remedial training. This test is extremely difficult as it has a failure rate of over 66 percent."

Sakura looked horrified, while the boys just stared ahead blankly.

When no one spoke, Kakashi said, "Show up at Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 5 a.m." He stood up and popped his back. He made a single handsign and said, "Oh, don't eat breakfast, you might puke."

He then disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Sasuke immediately stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and started walking towards the stairs with Sakura hovering over him like an annoying insect. Naruto just stood up and made the same handsign as Kakashi, then suddenly disappeared in a white hot flame.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto walked towards the same tree that Sakura and Sasuke were currently underneath. When they looked over at him, they were surprised at his sudden transition of clothing.

He decided to forego his normal robe-like attire for something that resembled a shinobi instead in a monk. He wore a simple dark red t-shirt underneath standard shinobi flak jacket, not even caring that Genin weren't allowed to have one. He switched his simple loose robe bottoms for a pair of armored pants, with the armor being within the stitching. On his feet were normal shinobi sandals. He wore a red trench coat with black flames along the trim above his flak jacket. Finally, he wore fingerless gloves and continued to wear his hitai-ate around his waist like a belt.

It had been around three hours when Kakashi suddenly appeared on top of a branch above them, his eyes glued to an orange book.

"Yo." He said without looking at them.

"You're late!" Sakura yelled as she glared at her sensei.

Kakashi jumped down from the tree branch and landed in front of them. He turned to his soldiers and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry about that," He apologized. "I got lost on the long road of Life."

"Excuses!"

The copy nin held up his hand defensively. When she calmed down he said, "Now let me explain to you three how this is going to work."

He reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out two silver bells tied together by a thin piece of twine no more than three inches long. He jingled them for good measure.

The white haired Jounin eye smiled then said, "You guys have to try and get these bells from me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he questioned his sensei. "What happens to the Genin that doesn't manage to get a bell?"

His sensei pointed an index finger upwards and exclaimed, "Astute as always, Naruto! As you pointed out, there are only two bells, but only three of you. The one that doesn't get a bell is sent back to the academy."

"What?!" Sakura yelled in shock.

Naruto and Sasuke just looked at each other then narrowed their eyes. Kakashi, meanwhile, just pulled out an alarm clock and set it. Then, he placed it on top of the closest of three logs that were imbedded in the ground.

"You have until noon to attempt to get a bell."

The three Genin stood up.

"Ready…"

They tensed their muscles.

"Set…"

Sasuke popped his neck. Sakura looked nervously at her teammates. Naruto was a blank slate.

"…Go!"

Three blurs and the three of them were gone. Kakashi checked for chakra signatures and sighed when he immediately sensed Sasuke's and Sakura's.

_Where is Naruto?_

After several seconds of nothing happening Kakashi shrugged and opened his orange book again, a blush growing on his cheeks. He was about to turn to the next page when a twig snapped. He spun around, kunai in hand.

_Ah! There's the fire user!_

Naruto stepped through the underbrush, the lid to his main container wobbling rapidly, as if the contents inside were eager to burn something. He walked across the clearing until he was standing just in front of a river that ran through the training grounds. He put his hands into the ram sign. An increase of chakra output later and seven clones were standing alongside him.

_Shadow clones?_ Kakashi thought as he readied his kunai. _If they have the same fire defense as the real Naruto, I could be in trouble. I better keep my KI down too; I don't need him to go Feral, especially front of Sakura and Sasuke. They might not like what they would see if he did._

"Lesson One," Kakashi said, just loud enough for the two other Genin to hear. "Close-quarters combat."

He then suddenly ran forward, with the seven clones running towards him to cut him off from attacking the real Naruto. The white haired Jounin stabbed one in the kidney and thrusted his fingers into the throat of another, making them disappear in an explosion of smoke. He ducked below a stab from a katana and smashed his foot into the attacker, making him disappear as well. He then leapt into the air, upper cutting a clone in the process. When he landed he quickly looked around, counting the number of clones left.

_Four down._

He dodge rolled to the side and stabbed one in gut and broke the neck of a second. He back flipped over the other two. Before his feet hit the ground, he threw multiple shuriken at the clones, and they too disappeared.

Kakashi caught his breath and thought to himself, _That was easy._ His eyes narrowed. _Too easy._

He spun towards the river, his right hand on the bells, his left hand holding a kunai. His eye widened when he took in the sight. Or rather… the lack thereof.

Naruto, the real one, was gone.

Kakashi shunshinned out of sight, heading towards Sakura's chakra signature.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Sakura was running frantically through the wooded section of Training Grounds 7, trying to find her "Sasuke-kun".

"Lesson Two: The Trickery of the Mind."

Sakura turned around and stared into the eye of her sensei. Her world then suddenly faded in a swirl of summertime leaves…

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Sasuke was busy setting up the last of his traps when he heard the leg trap that was next to a tree go off. He turned around, kunai in one hand, shuriken in the other, only to get annoyed when he saw Naruto hanging there, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Get. Me. Down." The blonde growled. Killing Intent leaked everywhere, sending shivers down Sasuke's back.

The last Uchiha smirked and shook his head. He turned around to go and finish his last trap when-

"Lesson Three: Elemental Jutsu."

Sasuke leapt backwards when the ground beneath him suddenly caved in, revealing a slightly dirty Kakashi.

The young Genin smirked and formed several signs. Recognizing them, Kakashi's only visible eye widened in shock.

_Impossible! No normal Genin should have anywhere near enough charka for that jutsu!_

Sasuke disagreed.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A large bout of flame spewed forth from Sasuke's mouth completely surrounding Kakashi and Naruto. When everything settled, Naruto was leaning against the same tree where the trap was placed without a single burn on him. Kakashi, on the other hand…

_Where is he?!_ Sasuke thought wildly as he looked around in the same manner. _Above? The side?_

"Below."

A hand suddenly came out of the ground.

"Doton! Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!"

Within a second, Sasuke found himself up to his neck beneath the ground. A smiling Kakashi in front of him just bopped him on the nose and shunshinned away. Naruto stepped forward and started digging Sasuke out with a kunai, much to Sasuke's chagrin.

"I don't need your help, Dobe. I can dig myself out."

Naruto did nothing but drop the kunai blade first a mere breath from Sasuke's face, stood up, and walked away without a sound. Somewhere a distance away, sitting on a log, a timer started ringing.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Naruto and Sasuke were sitting next to Sakura, who was currently tied to a log, with Kakashi looking at them in disappointment. He lowered his head and sighed.

"And here that this bunch would be different." He muttered. He lifted his gaze to look at the three Academy graduates. "I am willing to give you guys another chance…" They all looked at him. "You have one hour to try and get these bells. If one of you manages to get a bell, then you all pass."

There was a flash of black steel and the ropes that pinned Sakura to the log were cutting, allowing her to fall gracelessly to the ground. Naruto roughly grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. He gave her a small shake and suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi's eyes widened at that.

_He was a clone the whole time?!_ He turned and looked around, not even noticing that the other two kids had already disappeared as well. _Where are you hiding, Naruto?_

Little did he know that all three were already forming a plan to get the bells.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

"So what's your "plan," Dobe?" Sasuke asked with evident sarcasm.

Naruto gave no expression of having heard him as he sat there in silence. After several minutes of nothing happening, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"This is what we're going to do. Sasuke," the broody pre-teen looked at the Jinchuuriki. "You and Sakura are going to do joint attacks to keep him occupied and on his guard. The less he worries about me the better. When the timing is best, I move in with my part of the plan."

"Which is…?" Sakura made a 'keep going' motion with her hand.

"You'll see." Naruto stood up. "Just get into position and do your jobs, and I'll do mine."

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

Kakashi was disappointed as he had been standing there, reading his book, for nearly thirty minutes and he hadn't been attacked once.

Until Sasuke and Sakura leaped out from the bushes, kunai at the ready. Kakashi frowned from behind his mask as he shut his book and used its spine to block a stab from Sasuke, and kicked Sakura in the stomach.

_It's good to see that they've caught on to the reason behind the bell test, but where is-_

Before Kakashi could finish that thought, the two students disappeared just as quickly as they had shown up, leaving the Jounin tense and on guard.

"Where are they…" He muttered beneath his breath.

A presence suddenly appeared behind him, so he readied his Kunai and spun, his arm outstretched for a stab to the neck, but a feminine hand stopped him cold.

Anko looked shocked for a brief second before she smirked and said, "No wonder you can't get a girl, Kakashi. You're too tense for anything fun."

Kakashi lowered his arm when she let him go, and asked, "What are you doing here, Anko?"

The Snake Mistress shrugged. "Checking out the possible newbies. Why else would I be within fifty feet of your perverted self?"

Kakashi said nothing as he put his Kunai up, but stopped when he remembered something from the files on Naruto.

_Is known to be crafty with Henges._

Kakashi's eye widened when he realized what was going on.

_Very clever, Naruto._ He thought. _I'll give you that. But not clever enough._

The man threw the kunai at Anko, who ducked in surprise. She turned to look at where it went, to see it embedded in a tree down to the hilt. She slowly turned back to the one who threw it, an inferno in her eyes.

Before she could say anything, Naruto came running out from behind a few trees, katana unsheathed and ready for blood. He stopped short when he saw the pair, however.

Naruto blinked a few times. "…What's going on here, Kakashi?"

Kakashi's eyes contracted down to the size of small dots and his skin paled to that of arctic snow. He rapidly looked between a confused Naruto and a pissed off Anko.

He turned to look at the Kunoichi and said, "I can explain…"

He didn't get the chance to as Anko punched him hard enough to knock him unconscious and crack the ground where his head landed. Anko just gave a nod to Naruto as it puffed back into the clone, and that too disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Naruto walked forward and took the bells from Kakashi's waist while Sakura and Sasuke came out from hiding to stand next to him. Sakura snorted at the idea that the plan worked.

"Can't believe that a Jounin fell for such an easy trick." Sasuke stated.

After he finished speaking, Kakashi disappeared in a puff smoke, along with the bells. The three of them immediately got into a defensive formation that left no room for blind spots. The real Kakashi suddenly appeared in the center of their self-made circle, an eye-smile on his face.

"You three pass." He said cheerfully.

Sakura cheered and was jumping for joy. Sasuke just smirked in acceptance. Naruto just remained stoic and gave a barely perceptible nod. The Jinchuuriki sheathed his katana and started walking away.

Kakashi called after him, "Be here at 7 'o clock sharp tomorrow!"

The young Genin gave no sign that he had heard his sensei.

**~~~(((0)))~~~**

The Third Hokage leaned forward in his chair and said, "Status report."

"Team 1, fail."

"Team 2, fail."

"Team 3, fail."

"Team 4, fail."

"Team 5, fail."

"Team 6, fail."

"Team 7… pass."

Everyone started at that. Kakashi just smiled wide. Sarutobi nodded. "Continue."

"Team 8, pass."

"Team 10, pass."

Sarutobi nodded as the last Jounin, his son, Asuma, gave his report.

**~~~~~(((0)))~~~~~**

**Annnnnnd finished! I've had a busy month lately, and turned 17 during that time.**


End file.
